Voice/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim is taking a shower and singing a blues song about Moby. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, Where does my voice come from? From, Jill. Hey, Jill. Your voice comes from your larynx, also called your voice box. MOBY: Beep. Moby is holding a cardboard box. TIM: And it's not made of cardboard. It's made up of cartilage, muscle and ligaments and can be found in your neck at the top of the trachea. An image shows a voice box. Then it is shown inside of a human figure's neck. TIM: The vocal folds are two pairs of elastic membranes that stretch across the larynx. An image shows the vocal folds. TIM: Most people know them as vocal cords. One pair is called false vocal cords. These guys are thick, muscular folds that basically protect the true vocal cords. They're pretty much not used in vocalization, except if you scream or grunt. An animation shows open false vocal cords, which then close around the true vocal cords. TIM: One cool thing to know about false vocal cords is that they regenerate. So if you have to have surgery to remove all or part of them, they will grow back. Neat, huh? MOBY: Beep. TIM: The true vocal cords are the ones that produce sounds. An animation shows the true vocal cords vibrating to produce sounds. TIM: To make noise, your vocal cords need the help of your respiratory system. The animation of vocal cords inside the human figure expands to show the respiratory system with the lungs expanding and contracting. TIM: When you're just breathing normally, the muscles that control the vocal cords are relaxed. Air flows by them without making a sound. The vocal cords are still. TIM: The vocal cords behave differently when you have something to say. The muscles tighten up, pulling the vocal cords closer together. When air passes through, the cords vibrate. It's this vibration that produces sounds. An animation shows the muscles tightening and the cords vibrating. TIM: Varying the speed of the vibration of the vocal cords is what makes it possible to make different sounds. For instance, fast vibration makes high-pitched sounds— TIM: And slow vibration makes lower pitches. Animations show the fast versus slow vibrations that produced the high and low pitches. TIM: Other parts of your body help produce your voice, too. The mouth and nose amplify and shape sounds, while your lips and tongue help you make more complex sounds. Side by side images show a human profile with the nasal passage, oral passage, and throat shown, and an open mouth showing the lips and tongue. TIM: You may have noticed that men generally have lower voices than women. The overall pitch of someone's voice depends on the thickness, length, and tension of that person's vocal cords. An image shows the silhouettes of a man and woman and the voice box in their throats. TIM: When boys go through puberty, their vocal cords get longer and the larynx gets bigger. These larger cords produce deeper-pitched sounds. The image shows the male figure as his larynx grows larger and vocal cords lengthen. TIM: Your voice is a pretty amazing thing. It distinguishes you from everyone else, and people learn to recognize it. No two people have exactly the same voice. Moby's chest opens up and reveals a voice meter. VOICE METER: That's right, Tim. Now, please excuse me. I have to go make some telephone calls. The voice sounds like Tim's voice. TIM: Moby, please don't do that. MOBY: Beep. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Health Transcripts